How over 50’s use social media – 2017 Sensis Social Media Report

The Sensis Social Media Report is an annual survey of 800 consumers, aged 18 to 65+, researching how they use social media. The research was conducted nationally via telephone in Feb/Mar 2017.

The 2017 consumer results released today reveal a number of interesting findings about how the over 50’s access and use social media.

Key Findings

84% of Australians on average access the internet daily. For those aged 50 -64, this figure is 78% and 68% for those aged 65+.

Those aged over 50+ are far more likely to access social media on a laptop, tablet or desktop computer compared to younger age groups. In contrast, they are less likely to access social media via a smartphone compared to younger age groups.

Usage of social media by the time of day amongst those aged 50+ skews heavily to the evening in the first instance, followed by first thing in the morning. By comparison, younger age groups have a more frequent use of social media throughout the day.

By location, social media usage by those aged 50+ skews very heavily to be mostly used at home 96% as opposed to other locations. Within the home, the lounge/living room and study are the most popular locations where social media is used.

Facebook remains by far the dominant social media platform across all age groups. Specifically, 94% of those aged 50 -64 use Facebook and 91% for those aged 65+. YouTube is the next most popular site for those aged over 50’s, then followed by Linked In (25% for those aged 50 – 64).

Amongst those who use social media, Facebook Messenger is the leading messaging service with 81% average use, with WhatsApp next at 18%. Interestingly those aged 50 – 64 have the highest WhatsApp usage at 25%.

Amongst social media users on mobile devices, 68% on average access social media via an app with those aged 50+ more likely to access social media via a website.

Those aged 18 – 29 are most likely to trust news sources on social media compared to older age groups. By contrast, those aged 50+ have the highest amount of trust in traditional news sources compared to younger age groups.

The top reasons amongst those aged 50+ users for using social media sites are: catch up with family or friends, share photographs or videos and getting information on news and current events.

The most popular behaviours by those aged 50+ on social media are: watching a video or sharing someone else’s post on social media. They are significantly less likely to accept requests to connect from people they don’t know, compared to younger age groups.

Interestingly those aged 18 – 29 are far less likely to use of online ratings, online reviews & blogs compared to older age groups. Those aged 50 – 64 are the most likely to post an online review or blog 34%, compared to all other age groups.